This invention relates to orthopaedic demonstration aids, and is concerned more particularly, but not exclusively, with orthopaedic hip replacement demonstration aids.
In the medical field it is known to demonstrate surgical techniques using aids specifically provided for this purpose, since it is impractical to rely solely on demonstration of such techniques on the human or animal body. An increasingly important area for demonstration of surgical techniques is hip replacement, and there is a need for an orthopaedic hip replacement demonstration aid which is capable of demonstrating all stages of hip replacement using a single demonstration aid, both for teaching purposes and for demonstration of the techniques to patients.
British Patent No. 2264190 discloses an orthopaedic demonstration aid in the form of a facsimile of the human skeletal knee with full femur and tibia, excluding patella, connected together in the correct anatomical position. Each of the femur and tibia comprises a main portion and a number of detachable pieces connected to the main portion by magnetic attraction. These pieces may be separately detached from the main portions to show different stages of an orthopaedic implant technique, and to accept the correct orthopaedic prosthesis. Once the demonstration has been completed, the prosthesis can be removed and the detachable pieces reattached so as to place the aid in its original state, suitable for reuse.
It is an object of the invention to provide an orthopaedic skeletal joint demonstration aid which is particularly convenient in use and which can be used to demonstrate a number of different surgical techniques.
According to the present invention there is provided an orthopaedic skeletal joint demonstration aid for demonstrating the fitting of an orthopaedic prosthesis to a skeletal joint, the aid comprising a facsimile skeletal part including an elongate main portion incorporating an axial passage, and a detachable sheath portion received within the passage and incorporating a further axial passage adapted to detachably receive a shaft of the prosthesis such that a head of the prosthesis projects from an end of the skeletal part.
Such an orthopaedic skeletal joint demonstration aid may be used to demonstrate surgical orthopaedic techniques in joint replacement, such as in hip, knee, shoulder, digit, wrist, elbow and ankle replacement, both for humans and animals. It may also be used in demonstrating power surgical tools and hand instruments.
The invention also provides an orthopaedic hip replacement demonstration aid for demonstrating the fitting of an orthopaedic hip replacement prosthesis, the aid comprising a facsimile femur part including an elongate main portion incorporating an axial passage and a joint portion releasably secured to the main portion and readily detachable from the main portion to allow fitting of one part of the prosthesis, and a facsimile pelvis part incorporating a socket for receiving either the joint portion or another part of the prosthesis when the joint portion is removed on fitting of the prosthesis.